Means for dropping projectiles from aerial crafts.



unseen, MEANS FOR DROPPING PBOJEGTILES PBOIQ AERIAL OBAFTB. APPLICATION FILED [AI 4, 1910.

991,378. Patented May 2,1911.

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' 6 aux/J5- 4.. 'v r flfloznu R. E. SCOTT. MEANS FOR DROPPING PROJECTILES FROM AERIAL CRAFTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1910.

*wa I 11 case a any well known and approved construction and - and combinations of dparts more fully here- 'the operator who is to dischar e RILEY SCOTT, OF PEEKBKIIL, NEW YORK,

ms FOB DROPPING PiO-TECTILES FROM AERIAL CRAFTS.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Kay 4', 1910. Serial No. 559,885.

To all whom it mag mam:-

Be it known thatI, Rmnr ESTEL Soon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peekskill, inIthe county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Means for Dro ing Project es from Aerial Crafts; do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 'appertains to make and use the same.

- This invention relates to means for dropping or shooting projectiles carrying explosives from aerial craft, and has for its object to provide an apparatus whereby the operator may t1place himself in a position directly above e object to be attacked, or if the craft be in motion, to enable the operator to drop or shoot the projectile at a given time before he reaches a vertical position over the target. And in either case to enable the operator, by the means hereinafter described, to strike the object aimed at with morecertainty and greater accuracy than has heretofore-been ossible.

With these ob ects in view, the invention consists in the novel details of construction inafteidisclosed an out in the claims.

' Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this s ecification, in which like numerals refer to like parts in all the views-Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a well known form of air craft equip with m invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged p an view 0 the projectilecarrying framework, Fig. 3 a sectional view through the center of said framework, and Fig. 4, an enlarged detail view of one of the projectile tubes.

1 indicates an suitable form of air craft, and 2 any suita le platform or support for the projectiles. The motor for the cra proper and the means of propelling the same may be of particularly pointed and therefore are not illustrated.

Suitably carried by the craft or balloon 1 1s a support or framework 3, in which is prefera y mounted a ring 4, provided with gimbals 5, and in this ring4is a second ring 6, provided with the gimbals 7 pivoting in the said ring 4. The gimbals 7 are mounted in a line at right angles to the line joining the gimbals 5, and therefore the arrangement as a whole constitutes the well known universal mounting used wherever it is desired to maintain a surface horizontal. Inside the ring 6 are a series of tubes 8,

Patented-May Z, 1911.

which maybe simple tubes, or gun barrels adapted to receive light charges of powder. Ins1de the tubes 8 fit the projectiles 9,.which may be of any suitable form or construction, and which are preferably rovided with guide vanes such as-lO, in or erto' keep the pr jectiles vertical during flight. In order to accomplish this latter purpose, it is desirable to have the center of gravity of the projectiles located near their pointed ends, and also to have the vanes 10 of sufiicient length and size to insure a steady downward. flight.

Across the tubes 8 are preferably laced supporting bars 12, over which pass s iding r0 s .13. The upper end of the rod 14, to which the vanes 10 are attached, is cut away as shown at 15, and is provided with a roller 16 under which the end of the rod 13 fits, and thereby supports the projectile 9,- as best illustrated in Fig. 4.

Extending over the tubes 8 and at right angles to the bars 12 is a bar 17, pivoted as at 18 to the ring-like support 19 located near the center of the ring 6. The sliding rod- 13 also passes over the pivoted bar 17 as illustrated, and slides thereon, as will be disclosed below. The said bar 17 has an abutment 20 near its inner end, and also carries a pin 21 at a short distance from said abutment. The sliding rod 13 normally rests against said pin 21 when it is incapable of being moved from under the supporting roller 16. The said pin 21, however, may

be conveniently controlled by a rod 22,

curved as at 23, where it passes through the pin 21, and jointed as at 24 where it passes through the hinge 18. A guide lug 25 mounted on a support 19 is also provided for the rod 22, and said rod is preferably provided with an upturned end 26, for a purpose to be described below.

In order to release the projectile 9, I preferably provide a firing pin 30, controlled by a spring 31 abutting against said firing pin and against a lug 32 carried by the bar 12. When the spring is not under compression, as shown in Fig. 4, the sliding rod 13 is securely held in place as illustrated, and has no tendency to move in any direction. When. however. it is desired to release a projectile 9, the firing pin 30 is moved outwardl until its lower end 33 enters the recess 34 m' the rod 13, whereupon'the spring '31 is placed under compression and there is scribed, it is evident that .if the trigger rod 22, be moved inward its curved portion 23 will force the pin 21 downward, thereby releasing the rod 13 and permitting the same to fly inward against the abutment 20, and to thereupon release the projectile 9. In order that the spring 31 may be ke t under compression and the firing in 30 ocked in place, the recess 34 is provi ed with a notch 35, into which the lip of the projection 33 may enter and thereby prevent the pm from being withdrawn from the notch 35, unless it is moved outwardly before it is moved upwardly. The firing pin 30 may be moved upwardly by hand, when the firing operation is to take place, but I lqrefer to prov de a spring 36 for automatica y accomplishing 1 this movement. The inner end of the sliding scop rod 13 passes under a guide lug 37 as shown in Fig. 4, in order to steady its movement.

In order that the firing operator may be able to carefully sight the target, the central supporting rin 19 is provided with a tube 40, which is rmly supported in the rings 41 and 42 and is further supported from the tubes S-by the brackets 43. The tube 40 carries a telesco 45,. which may be conveniently provide with cross hairs or spider lines, and the platform 2 is so located and so suspended, as by the means 46, as to enable the o erator to keep his e e .constantly on the ob ect while viewing t e v In order to same through said telescope. facilitate the sighting of the projectiles, any suitable means, as a cord 47, may be attached to any fixed portion of the machine, and by means of whlch the operator may pull himself from one position to another, in order to counteract the varying movements of the craft, and thereby maintain himself in a fixed relation with the eye-piece of the telee. Since the projectiles 9- may be of considerable weight, it is desirable to be able to fire the same in pairs so as not to disturb the equilibrium of the craft. In order to accomplish this, the tube 40'may be provided with a ring 48, capable'of sliding on said tube, which ring may carry cam surfaces 49, adapted to fit over the bent u projections 26 of the firing or trigger re s 22, and when de ressed to force said trigger rods inward y through the pin 21, so that projectiles on diametrically opposite sidesof the telescope will be released simultaneously in pairs. Of course, if for any reasons it "may be desired to fire a single rojectile at a time, the same may be reased by -simply pressing upon the upturned portion 26 of the rod 22 with the fingers, or else the cam surfaces 49 may be dispensed with, exec t for the particular projectile which it is esired to fire singly.

In order to conveniently load the 'rojectiles into the tubes 8 the bars 12 an 17 together with the firing pin 30 and sliding ro 13 may be lifted on the hinge '18, as

indicated in dotted lines in- 4, whereupon the firin rod 22 will break onits huge 24, and t e whole will thereu removed from over the end of the tu nbeand

the projectile may be readily put into the proper position. I v

7 Of course, the projectilesmay be loaded into position throu h the lower'ends of the tubes without moving the parts just mentioned on the hinge 18, but if the hinge is provided the tubes 8 may be rifled so that should the upper ends of the tubes 8 be covered and a charge of powder placed in said tubes, the rojectiles will thereupon be forced out of the same and given a rotary motion on their axes through the rifling that may be employed. In most cases, however the vanes 10 can be relied upon to steady the projectiles.

Of course the telescope may be provided with any suitable and well known adjusting means (not shown), in order to keep it at right angles to the plane of the ring 6, and also to adjust its cross hairs in azimuth so that one of the, same may be placed in the line of flight.

' When the balloon 1 or other craft is stationary over the object to be attacked the projectiles may be slmply released as ve escribed after the cross hairs ofthe telescope are located on said object; but when the balloon is in motion the telescope may be set at given an les to the lane of the rin 6 by any wel known sultable means, an the projectiles released at the proper instants to cause their trajectories to pass through the target.- Suitable tables could be used to aid in determining the instants of release or the rin 6 when the projectiles are fired.

t is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction and the arrangement of parts without de arting from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to such features except as may be required by the claims.

What I claim is 1. In an aerial craft, the combination of a sup ort; a. air of rings ang es to eac other earned y said support" a tube adapted to-carry a projectile carri by said rings; means comprising a sliding rod to sup ort said (projectile; means for moving sai rod; an means for sighting said tube, substantially as gjvoted at right angles the telescope should make with the 2. In an aerial craft, the combination of a support; a pair of rings pivoted at right angles to each other carried by said support;

' a tube adapted to carry a projectile carried by said rings; means comprisinga sliding rod to support said projectile; means comprising a pin and a spring for movin said rod; a trigger rod for controlling sai slidin rod; and means for sighting said tube, su stantially as described. A

'3. In an aerial craft, the combination 0 I a s pport; a universal mounting carried by sai support; a tube adapted to carry a rojectile carried on said mounting; a sli ing rod for holdin said projectile; a pivote support for sai rod; a sliding in carried by sald support; a tri ger r0 or control- 1mg said sliding ro and a telescope for sighting said tube, substantially as described.

' 4. In an aerial craft, the combination of a sup ort; a universal mounting comprising a p urality'of rings having glmbal ivots carried by said support; a plurality 0 projectiles carried by said mounting; a sighting means comprising a telescope carried by said mounting; and means comprising a pin, a trigger rod and a cam surface for firm said projectiles simultaneously, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

' RILEY ESTEL SCOTT. Witnesses:

Louis W. MYERS,

HENRY EDMUND MELENEY. 

